Sean Hoare, a former News of the World journalist who made allegations of phone hacking against the paper, has been found dead in Watford.

Hoare had recently told the New York Times that the allegations of hacking went much deeper than had previously been investigated by police.

According to the BBC, Hertfordshire Police confirmed that a body of a man was found at Langley Road, Watford, on Monday morning.

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The death is currently being treated as unexplained, rather than suspicious.

"At 10.40am today [Monday] police were called to Langley Road, Watford, following the concerns for welfare of a man who lives at an address on the street," a police spokesperson said.

"Upon police and ambulance arrival at a property, the body of a man was found. The man was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after.

"The death is currently being treated as unexplained, but not thought to be suspicious. Police investigations into this incident are ongoing."

Hoare had also described the phone hacking scandal as "endemic" while appearing on BBC's Panorama. He also claimed that Andy Coulson had asked him to hack phones while he worked for the paper, which Coulson has since denied.